Two Boone County legislators who scooped up thousands of dollars for their 2008 contests might have to send some of it back if a recent Missouri Supreme Court ruling is made retroactive.

Last week, the court unanimously ruled that a 2006 provision allowing for political contributions without monetary limits was unconstitutional. The law, enacted last year, abolished limits on campaign donations and banned fundraising during the legislative session.

After a lower court struck down the fundraising ban, Judge Stephen Limbaugh wrote for the Supreme Court, the rest of the measure should have been invalidated. The Missouri Ethics Commission announced that statewide candidates can raise $1,275, state Senate candidates can take in $650 and state representative hopefuls can scoop up $325.

The move puts an end to a six-month period when Missouri politicians at times took huge chunks of money to fund campaigns. Left unresolved in the ruling, however, is whether those individuals will have to return money to donors.

Such a move could have a discernable effect on Rep. Jeff Harris, D-Columbia, and Sen. Chuck Graham, D-Columbia, both Democrats. Harris is running for attorney general, and Graham is seeking another state Senate term.

Other lawmakers who represent parts of Boone County did not actively raise as much as Graham or Harris. Rep. Steve Hobbs, R-Mexico, didn’t raise any money from January to June, and Rep. Judy Baker, D-Columbia, took in about $300 in the July period.

Most political observers agree it is more likely campaigns will get to keep contributions up to the pre-existing limits. For example, the maximum contribution for a state senator is $650. If a candidate for a Senate seat took a $1,000 donation, he would have to refund $350.

Using that logic, Harris would get to keep about $157,680 out of about $192,005 of the money he raised from Jan. 2 to June 30 if the court makes the ruling retroactive. Graham would get to keep roughly $49,890 of the $92,440 he raised during that time.

Jack Cardetti, spokesman for the Missouri Democratic Party, said his party supports candidates giving donations back that went over the old limits. He noted that not doing so would put unannounced candidates at a disadvantage.

"If you don’t have them return the money, you put candidates that are just now deciding to run so far behind the eight ball that they’ll never be able to catch up," he said.

Harris said last week he doesn’t know whether he supports such a move.

The retroactivity of the ruling could have especially large consequences for Harris. If he gets to keep the money, he’ll have a sizable cash-on-hand lead over Rep. Margaret Donnelly, D-Richmond Heights, his primary opponent. But he’ll still be behind Sen. Chris Koster, R-Harrisonville, who has more than $640,000 in the bank.

A refund ruling would force Koster to give a substantial amount of his contributions back. Earlier this year, he accepted a donation of $125,000 from James Stowers of Kansas City, a notable proponent of stem cell research.

For Graham, who doesn’t have a Republican opponent yet, a refund ruling would chip away at nearly $115,000 he has in the bank. But he said such action wouldn’t stop him, or others, from pulling in large stashes of cash through district committees. Those entities have been criticized for being conduits to move funds through the political process without disclosing the source. "People will spend time raising money through those district committees," Graham said. "The truth of it is it’s a wink-and-nod system. I’d really like you to send $6,500 to this district committee, and you’ll call the district committee and say, ‘You know, I’d really like it if you might be able to give us $6,000.’ If that’s what the court thinks we should go back to, we’ll compete with whatever rules are out there."

Graham said contribution barriers do more harm than good because large contributors, such as St. Louis businessman Rex Sinquefield, still can find ways to infuse thousands of dollars in a less transparent way. "Rex Sinquefield, he’s a businessman," Graham said. "He’s also savvy enough to where he’ll put money in those district committees, or they’ll do independent expenditures where the candidate doesn’t even get to control their own message. Money will always find its way into a system. The presidential system, I don’t know what the limits are. … That didn’t really stop Barack Obama from raising $38.5 million."